VW owners in US get cash. In Europe, they get plastic tubes
The startling gap in treatment is the result of European laws that shield corporations from class-action suits brought by unhappy consumers.
Lawyers in Berlin, Paris and elsewhere in Europe are teaming up with new online services to recruit clients en masse and try to get around the usual restrictions on consumer lawsuits.
The campaigns are attracting people like Jurgen Franz, a retired advertising executive in Munich who says his Volkswagen, a diesel Tiguan sport utility vehicle, burns more fuel after a software update that was part of a mandatory recall.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers hope the efforts will signal a turning point in European jurisprudence, opening up a clearer path for aggrieved customers to join forces across borders to sue big corporations.
The startups are taking advantage of a loophole that allows European consumers to sign over their legal claims to third-party service providers, which then try to recover damages.